


Forty-Eight Hours Into A Work Shift Is When Things Get Strange

by readoffwell



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Human, Coffee Runs, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Phone Number Exchanges, Sleep Deprivation, Surgery, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 18:07:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18922306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readoffwell/pseuds/readoffwell
Summary: Jasper is sent to the medical lab to find an update of a blood test.She's never going to get those results.





	Forty-Eight Hours Into A Work Shift Is When Things Get Strange

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for jasker on Tumblr, because her art is SO FREAKING AMAZING! Her hospital AU was way too cute, I had to write something for it! I hope you enjoy it! :))

“Got it!”

The smooth timber of the game flap rotated as the pad of her finger applied pressure at its side, pride spiraling within her as the uninterrupted hickory was replaced with a fiery, ‘X’ engravement.

“That’s three in a row, I win,” pulling away from the gameboard, her gaze paused intently on the child’s expression, who, at any moment, would realize her ‘mistake’ and claim victory for himself.

As if on cue, the young boy’s guise brightened, his hand originally pressed against the thin hospital sheets now set on the game’s border, an accusation bubbling at his throat. “You only get the point if it’s in one row! That doesn’t count!”

Of course, she knew that; if she couldn’t play a simple game of ‘tic tac toe’, yet could still pass through years of medical school at the top of the class, it would be like one hilarious mess.  She craned her head, sneaking a glance at the second nurse next to the bed, just finishing up taking the patient’s blood. The distraction had been a success.

“You’re right, bud, that means you win,” the exhilarated grins of victory had to be the best part of her job. She enjoyed what she did and being able to help the children stay positive from when they’re admitted all the way until they’re discharged was the most rewarding thing on Earth. Uncrossing her legs, she slipped from the bed, firming her heel against the hard, polished floor as she encouraged her leg to wake up. “How is your stomach feeling today?”

“Better with the medicine!” the boy shifted excitedly in the bed, even when her colleague pressed a firm wad of cotton against his arm, following the bright olive wrap that would only add to the IV already in the child’s arm. “But I’ll be even better after the surgery!”

She remembered when he had first come in earlier, refusing to let any of the nurses or doctors come near him. It was obvious right away that he had been in pain, his arms pressed over his hunched stomach, even as he tried to keep his tears in. Jasper had always been good with kids, and now, it was as if she had been his best friend since birth. “You’ll be feeling as good as new as soon as we get that appendix out of you.”

“And you’ll be with me the entire time?”

“I’ll be with you the entire time. As soon as you fall asleep to when you’re back in your room with your parents,” the kid could’ve had worse things; a bowel obstruction, an abdominal aneurysm, scrubbing in during an appendectomy would be like a piece of cake, something she had done dozens of times before. Without the likelihood of the appendix rupturing anytime soon, Jasper could practically already sense the success. “You’re going to be a tiger tomorrow.”

“Just like your shirt!”

“Just like my shirt,” she smiled. “You need to get some rest now, but I’ll see you tomorrow before the surgery, buddy.”

Now came for the part of the job she disliked the most. It happened every time, after diagnosing the condition, checking the stats, post-surgery check ins, when she stepped back from the bed, turning around-

“Thank you so much for everything!” the parents. She didn’t _hate_ them, they were most of the time just…irksome. (“Ma’am,” she remembered telling one rather annoying mother earlier, “I can assure you your child’s doctor and nurse team know more about gallstones than online articles.”) She preferred time with the kids than the parents, who seemed to adjudge and hawk over every single one of her actions.

She didn’t respond verbally, instead simply nodding her head in acknowledgement as she slipped out of the room with one more wave to the boy in the bed, met outside with the porcelain, decorated walls of the pediatrician unit. Paintings of peonies and various flowers donned the wallpaper, one of the many additional landmarks Jasper used as a map. Along the pristine floors, black engravements of children’s footsteps spiraled deeper into the hallways; it was a stereotypical hospital setting, though it was something that Jasper relished in. It made her job all the while more realistic.

With her evening rounds done, and no surgeries planned until later in the night, there was not much she could do. If it was a bit later, she could grab something from the cafeteria, but it was just too early for her to eat something. There was only one other thing she could do that was on the top of her mind.

 

“Jasper, this isn’t a toy,” being a pediatrician nurse had its perks—she got to help kids battling with medical problems and use her natural talent for good, and when she wasn’t doing that, she could annoy the data analysis as much as she wanted.

“But you’re not using it right now,” the chief of surgery would definitely be crestfallen if she saw Jasper like she was right now, leaned in against a computer screen, watching the body model on screen, Peridot backed away in her swivel chair with probably one of the most arid expressions she had ever seen. How could anyone blame her? It wasn’t her fault that they had some of the most entertaining interactive body map programs in the medical field. “You can even look at a model of an abdominal hernia.”

“This is what happens when you play with the kids all day,” midst her amazement at the screen, she felt a tiny fist collide with the hardened muscle of her bicep, finally prompting her to reluctantly pull herself away from the computer, reining the blonde analysist enough room to slid her chair back against her desk. “You start turning into a child.”

“You can’t blame me, I have nothing else to do until surgery later.”

“I have something you can do,” Jasper watched as the other lifted her hand, adjusting the wire frames that sat against her nose. She appeared ruffled for a moment, before finally speaking again, “I sent a sample to the lab technician an hour back and need an update,” she paused as she tore a piece of paper from her notebook, and when Jasper peaked down, jumbled scribbles were drawn against the lines. She took the sample into her palm as it was handed to her, glancing down at the words on the paper.

“Thanks,” when was the last time she had gone down to the tech lab? It couldn’t have been too long, though the last time she remembered being greeted with nothing but an empty room.

“Do you remember where the lab is?”

“I work with children, I’m not one, Peridot.”

The shorter elevated her head, with a chaff smirk imprinted on her lips. Rolling her eyes, she scoffed, before turning back to her computer’s monitor. “Sometimes its hard to tell the difference.”

 

 “A5…A5,” she was incredibly used to the flowers against the wall leading her to different parts of the pediatrician units. Peonies classified the PICU, roses showed her the way to the elevator. Without the colorful designs on the walls, resorting to the plaques above the door frames made her much more aware of Peridot’s former teasing statement.

Stars, maybe she _was_ becoming a child.

“Finally,” she glanced back down at the paper crumbled in her hand, her thumb pressing against the edge of the words. If this test turned out positive, someone would definitely have a bad day. She pulled back a stray piece of hair that had fallen past a bobby pin, brushing it back against her ear as she firmed her shoulder against the door. She slid back against the steel, hooking her elbow under the doorknob and effectively unlatching it from its lock.

She tried to enter as quietly as possible, fastening her heel between the door frame, letting the door languidly slide back into its place instead of running straight into the latch. She knew the basics of lab work, how carried away the technicians could be, if the one currently working was in a train of thought, she wouldn’t want to interrupt.

There wouldn’t be a train of thought to interrupt.

The front table, spread out with various tubes, microscopes and messes of papers, was completely still, as the same with the rest of the room, save for the very right corner of the room donned with a second, smaller table as well as a television pressed against the wall. There was a thin woman slumped over the bar chair, cowering over a bowel of noodles that looked _delicious_.  She hadn’t noticed Jasper, instead, her eyes focused on the television screen above. She had obviously caught the woman in the middle of a break, her eyebrows furrowed as she continued to observe the figure.

_She’s so hot._

Should she walk back out the door? The woman was obviously relaxing and taking a well-deserved break, but at the same time, if she didn’t get Peridot’s test back, there would only be one more patient confronting her at the front desk, nagging _her_ while she should be helping one of her own patients.

Despite telling herself she should come back in ten minutes-- she could grab a coffee in that time--, she felt herself involuntarily gravitating farther away from the door, and closer towards the technician. She knew _now_ that she should make her presence known, but it almost felt like a game for her. How long would it take for the other woman to notice her? She might as well let her finish as much of her dinner as she could.

Sneaking closer, she could begin to spot more distinct features of the other that she hadn’t originally noticed from the door. Pretty, umber hair whisked into light russet at the ends, swept around the sides of her face. Her expression was abridged in concentration at the monitor—a reality television show with a woman, a pretty woman at that, demonstrating some sort of product behind an equally bedazzling background. She had to resist laughing, maybe it was a good time to grab the other’s attention now, she didn’t want to other to suffer from a heart attack.

Unfortunately, as soon as she was about to reach a gentle hand forward, the other woman beat her to the action, firming her foot against the floor and spinning the bar stool around.

It was as if she had seen a ghost. Almost immediately, she forcefully jolted, her eyes broadening in shock as a startled shriek left her lips. A deep exhale of resurgence was cut off directly, her wrist pulling up to her mouth, and Jasper immediately took a step back and allowing the other room to  hunch forward against her seat, a rumble of unbidden coughing prompting her concern.

She felt like she should do _something_ , especially with the other’s face quickly blending into a shade that could rival tomato and a single tear slipping from the corner of her eye. However, she seemed to recover from her shock expeditiously, her hands stabilizing against her knees as she inaugurated catching up her breath.

“You alright?” _obviously_ the best thing to say to a woman who had nearly choked to death, and all because of her, nonetheless.

The other woman bobbed her head weakly, her palm finally fleeting back to the table and sitting back upright. Jasper noticed then exactly how flushed her tan skin had grown. She recalled seeing this woman once or twice before but had never actually talked to her. She was sure the other had noticed her before, too, it was hard to not spot a six-foot tall woman in tiger scrubs walking down the hall. The patches of light peach that splattered occasionally over her dark skin, like a tiger her patients would say, was only an added trait. “Y-You just scared me.”

“Rightfully so. I was going to let you know I was in the room, but you looked very concentrated on the TV,” she glanced at said monitor, where the woman in the dress had moved onto the next dramatic product. Either the technician was a swim fanatic, or she wasn’t eyeing _just_ the product.

“S-Sorry! It’s my dinner break,” her lips couldn’t help but raise in a knowing smirk, observing as the other fumbled around in her seat, hand loosely curled around the discarded lab coat draped over the chair. “J-Just tell me what you need, uh…”

“Jasper,” she confirmed, “Finish your dinner, I shouldn’t have interrupted you,” despite her words, she held the scribbled piece of paper up in her hand, almost immediately taken into a second frantic palm. “Peridot wants an update for the blood test from the patient with suspected CKD.”

“Ah! I was working on it before dinner,” the crumbled piece of notebook was placed on the table carefully, despite it being but a paper, and Jasper watched with intent as the lab coat was pulled over narrow shoulders and the other woman sighed with relief, as if she had been completely naked before hand. To give her the benefit of the doubt, Jasper felt nude without her scrubs on, but then again, she didn’t take her lunch breaks with her shirt off. She paused; not at work at least.

“You don’t have to do it right now,” she waited until she knew the other woman was watching her, the last traces of her former embarrassment just beginning to reside. She narrowed her eyes at the ID tag clipped onto the lab pocket, holding back a smile at the woman’s bright smile on the picture connected.

 _Pearl._ That was a pretty name.

“Besides,” she glanced down at the surface of the table. Whatever she had been eating was nearly gone, but it still looked _very_ delicious. If she could snag a recipe out of this interaction, it would only brighten her already sky rocketing day. She lowered herself onto the second bar stool that was positioned in front of the television, something the thinner woman seemed to take interest in. She simpered at her reaction, peering over the near empty bowl. “This looks, and smells, really good. What is it?”

Pearl appeared _very_ taken back at her remark. However, she felt the other return to her original seat next to her, the thought of the blood test long forgotten. “Hakka noodles, it’s my mother’s recipe.”

Jasper was a fine woman of take out and instant noodles, with her busy schedule she never had time to actually sit down and cook something. Granted, even if she tried, she couldn’t afford to burn her house down. Still, she knew good food when she knew saw it.

“Would you…Would you like to try some? I’m done, anyway,” she raised her eyebrows in surprise as the clay bowel was pushed her way. She took the fork into her hand, bringing the prongs to her lips. Despite being nearly cold, she forced a puff of breath past her teeth, before finally bringing the noodles into her mouth.

Fireworks sparked in her system immediately, her mouth watering, if even possible, more than earlier. Whatever this was, it was _amazing_ , much better than the food she had at home; no offence _Maruchan._

“Pearl,” she paused as she set the fork back against the bowl, searching for words that would easily describe her amazement. “This is _good_!”

“Oh, thank you,” a soft smile returned to Pearl’s lips, obviously brushing off the statement as much as she could. Her flatter was marveled by her cheeks, bright red. “It’s not too hard to make, it only takes half an hour or so.”

“Can you give me the recipe?”

“I don’t remember the recipe like the back of my hand,” the thinner hummed, “But I’ll bring it tomorrow! I can make extra for you tomorrow as well!”

“Would you?!” this woman was going to be the _death_ of her. Why hadn’t she visited the technical lab earlier? She was so far her sweetest coworker, compared to Peridot or Amethyst. She wanted to get to know this woman more.

“Is working in the lab hard work?”

“Oh, it’s so fun! Looking up close at the samples,” as words rolled off her tongue, Pearl’s loosely curled fist eloped one by one, with her pinkie at first as her opposite hand hooked onto each appendage. “Being able to work by myself, away from all of the patients!”

“You really don’t like talking to people, do you?”

“Not one bit!” she grinned.

“I love my patients,” Jasper wasn’t lying one bit; she absolutely adored helping the kids that were admitted return to full health. She had always had a soft spot for children. Dogs, too. Her next sentence accompanied the roll of her eyes. “Their parents are the lousy ones, no offense.”

“I know, right! They think they know better than trained professionals!” Stars, Pearl was _exactly_ on point.

“You’d think they’d let someone who was _trained_ to help their child actually do their job,” she could _never_ say any of this to their faces. As the chief of surgery said; don’t ever anger the ‘Tiny Human Makers’. Patience was key. Still, it was nice to finally talk to someone about her annoyances.

She was about to add on, but the chime and vibration from the device clipped to her waist band caught her attention. “One moment.”

“Page?”

“Yeah,” unhooking the pager from her pants, she assumed that it would most likely be a new patient admission. Someone else would take it most likely. She rotated her wrist, focusing on the tiny pale words scribbled on its screen.

_Shit._

“I have to go,” she suddenly pulled from her chair, pushing it away from the table as she stood. From the corner of her vision, she could pinpoint the other standing up as well.

“What’s the matter?”

“One of my kids,” karma bit her backside, ‘nothing serious’? She needed to get back to his room _quick_ , surgery needed to start as soon as possible. “Look, I’m really sorry to cut this short but I really need to-“

“Stop talking and go!” feeble palms slapped against her bicep, and with the other’s encouragement to _burst_ out of there, she didn’t need any more support to comply.

“We’ll talk again!”

 

She stopped counting how many people she nearly ran into on her way back to her patient’s room, after five she stopped concentrating. She forced herself to stick to the pace she shot forward at, brushing back the burn in her stomach and the screaming of her lungs.

“What’s wrong?!” finally sliding back into the right hallway, gratefulness invaded her entire body as the bulky hospital berth was already rolling from the room, barely catching in on time. Her relief was short lived as she watched the child wrapped in the blanket, curled against his stomach as a second nurse gently brushed back his hair. _Something_ was wrong.

“His appendix ruptured, we need to take him up to the OR _now!_ ”

Today was not going to be as easy as a day as she thought.

“My stomach hurts,” the feeble groan from the patient in the bed immediately grabbed her attention. She was quick to race to the stretcher’s side, wasting no time to cup a soothing hand over his shoulder.

“I know bud, but remember,” it was cramp-inducing to run along side the bed with half of her body pulled in against the mattress, but there was no way she could pull back now when he needed her most. “It hurts _really_ bad right now, but when you wake up, you’re going to feel so much better!”

There was no way she could keep up like this. She trusted her hip upwards to plant one leg against the side of the mattress, followed by the next shortly.

“Remember, you’re a tiger.”

She hoped that she had enough strength to be a tiger today.

 

If today could get _any_ worse.

She couldn’t even bother to carefully remove the scrub band from her head. Rather, she clenched the fabric harshly in her grip, roughly snatching it from the top of her head and sending it spiraling to the ground.

She suddenly felt extremely hot, it felt like she was on _fire_. She hadn’t drunk anything since before the surgery, hadn’t eaten anything, and with the lack of sleep finally pulling at her limbs, everything did nothing to ease her heavy mood.

The hallways were quiet at this time at night, especially with most of the pediatric patients being asleep. Her bun had become visibly looser throughout the time of the surgery, though she felt no need or even motivation to fix all of the bobby pins and the loose hair ties. She just wanted sleep. Coffee at least.

“Excuse me,” _oh, great._ Another snobby parent, what else more did she need at this time at night? She had only just gotten done consoling an entire family, she didn’t know if she could even handle having to argue and bicker with another know-it-all parent.

A quiet sigh rolled off her tongue, straightening out her shoulders as she prepared herself for whatever conversation would follow. “Ma’am I-“

Oh, _thank the stars_ , it wasn’t a parent.

“It’s been a while since you came back,” Pearl’s hands were pulled together against her chest, her thumbs idly locking together rotating against her palm—a nervous gesture she had seen from many of her patients’ parents. “I wanted to check in and see if you were doing alright.”

There was no way Pearl should still be at work, unless she was working overtime for a few of the test samples. She didn’t understand, she could’ve let the next lab technician on duty take care of things. Had she stayed late just for her?

“I’m doing horrible,” she finally let the shock of the appearance settle, fatigue rolling through her body like waves. Her eyes shot around the hallway for something that she could rest on, and it was as if the stars had answered her prayer with an empty stretcher against the wall. She glanced at the tan woman, before rolling her head back against the wall, leaning into the discarded bed before finally sinking completely into the mattress. It had been hours since she last laid down, let alone sat. “ _Horrible.”_

“Did your patient die?!”

“No, no!” _That_ she never would’ve been able to handle. With the love of her work also came the bad parts, and patients dying, patients she had formed a bond with especially, was something she’d never get used to. Even after all of this time, her heart still stopped every time she heard a Code Blue call from somewhere in the PEDS unit. “His appendix ruptured. He’s alright, but he’s got peritonitis now, and he’s most likely going to need another surgery for the infected tissue,” she sighed, “He’s still not in the clear yet, he’s in the PICU now.”

“You look…” she felt a tiny weight shift next to her, an indication that the lab technician had seated herself next to her. “Really exhausted. Isn’t your shift over now?”

“It should be, but I promised him I’d stay by his side the entire time. He needs me when he wakes up,” she groaned under her breath, her vision shaded by the crook of her elbow as she draped her arm over her face. Her heart fluttered and her words momentarily stopped as a gentle hand found itself on her knee, rubbing light shapes and lines against her scrubs. “I can’t go back home to sleep, I don’t have enough time to.”

Comforting yet muddle downcast silence fell upon the two women as her sentence trailed off, a great exhale of strained breath rolling past her lips. She loved being a nurse, but there were some parts of the job that, like during times like this, seemed way too overwhelming to handle.

“How long have you been working?”

How long? She’d been on call since Wednesday, so… “Forty-eight hours around.”

“Forty-eight hours?!” the other’s shrill prompt caused her to jolt, the hand against her knee swiftly pulling away as she opened her eyes again. Pearl looked embarrassed momentarily, though she could clearly pick up more shock and concern than anything from her contoured expression. “You’ve been working for forty-eight hours?!”

“…Yes?”

The weight on the mattress next to her lifted as Pearl stepped from the stretcher. A single eyebrow twisted as the other stood, hands positioned against her hips, a bloodless glare turning her cheeks dark with curiosity. “That won’t do! You can’t keep working! Look, you and I are getting coffee _right_ now.”

“But-“

“No buts, Jasper!” her jaw promptly sealed with the other’s command. “The coffee shop down the street is open at this time at night. I’ll pay, but you _need_ coffee!”

Could she argue with that? “You don’t have to pay for me. And my patient-“

“You’ll be gone two hours at the most,” two hours to buy coffee? “If he’s gone through intensive surgery, he won’t be awake until morning. Afternoon possibly.”

She had a point. He shouldn’t be waking up for at least six to twelve hours. That was more than enough time to grab a coffee, and if she _really_ needed it, a small nap in the on-call room would be rejuvenating.

“And I _will_ pay for you, and as soon as your patient wakes up, you’re _going_ to go home and get proper rest!”

“How will you know if I go home?”

She paused. Jasper’s curiosity only ten folded when the other’s face shaded a seeped red. “You will give me your phone number for this purpose. I’ll call you and bug you persistently until you finally go to sleep.”

This offer was far too tempting. Free coffee, a break from work, and most important, a cute girl’s phone number? The universe was treating her alright, today, _more_ than alright.

She rolled her eyes, pulling herself from the mattress. Her elbow locked over her head as her opposite arm hooked against her neck, her back arched in one of the most rewarding and much needed stretches she had ever had in her life. Her gaze turned to Pearl, who was watching her stretch intently with a flushed stare, a teasing smile playing at her lips. Finally, she stood, her arms crossed intently over her chest.

“This better be some really good coffee.”


End file.
